The World's Billionaires

#701 James Dyson

03.11.09, 06:00 PM EST

In February, the mastermind behind superfashionable Dyson vacuum wrote to the Guardian newspaper, "Let engineers make Britain great again." Dyson donated $10 million to London's Royal College of Art after his ambitious plan to launch a design and innovation school at the site of a flood plain in Bath collapsed when the government rejected the school's proposal.

In February, the mastermind behind superfashionable Dyson vacuum wrote to the Guardian newspaper, "Let engineers make Britain great again." Dyson donated $10 million to London's Royal College of Art after his ambitious plan to launch a design and innovation school at the site of a flood plain in Bath collapsed when the government rejected the school's proposal. Went to art school to study design and engineering. Ran through 5,127 prototypes until he perfected G-Force, an upright vacuum that uses spinning technology to maintain constant suction. Introduced his vacuum in U.K. in 1993, and it was an immediate hit. Guards technology zealously. In January won a patent-infringement case against Samsung Electronics. Stated: "We may not be a commercial giant like Samsung, but we will vigorously defend all the technology we have worked hard to develop and protect."